Project Officially Begins Construction with World’s First Megablock Deployment
French renewable energy developer Neoen’s Australian arm has announced the commencement of construction on the 226MW/866MWh Goyder North battery energy storage project in South Australia. The project will become the world’s first large-scale energy storage system to deploy Tesla’s Megablock technology, marking a new era for grid-scale energy storage.
Engineering services company UGL has been selected to construct the project, responsible for site preparation, delivery of a 275kV substation and high-voltage infrastructure, and providing testing and commissioning support.
Megablock Technology Breakthrough with Cost and Efficiency Improvements
Megablock is Tesla’s revolutionary energy storage architecture unveiled this year, combining four Megapack 3 units into a single pre-engineered, plug-and-play module with 20MWh capacity per block. According to Tesla data, the system enables 23% faster installation and up to 40% lower construction costs, opening new pathways for large-scale energy storage deployment.
The technology uses a new flexible busbar assembly that eliminates the need for above-ground cabling, achieving a site-level density of 248MWh per acre. The system has a 25-year lifespan, can withstand over 10,000 charge-discharge cycles, and delivers 91% medium-voltage round-trip efficiency.
Goyder Renewables Zone Expansive in Scale
The Goyder battery project forms a core component of Neoen’s Goyder Renewables Zone. Located near the town of Burra in South Australia’s Mid North region, the zone includes the now-operational 412MW Goyder South wind farm, the planned Goyder North wind farm with consent for up to 1GW of wind generation, and up to 600MW of solar generation capacity.
The battery project has planning approval for expansion up to 900MW/3,600MWh, potentially becoming Australia’s largest hybrid wind, solar, and storage project.
Supporting Mining Decarbonization with 10-Year Power Agreement
The battery system underpins a landmark 10-year renewable energy baseload agreement to supply power to mining giant BHP’s Copper South Australia mines from July 2029. The agreement will provide BHP with a 24/7 100MW supply solution combining output from the first 300MW of the Goyder North wind farm with storage from the Goyder battery.
Neoen Accelerates Deployment with Three Major Projects in Three Months
Neoen, owned by Canada-headquartered asset management company Brookfield, has launched three energy storage projects into construction in the past three months, including the 305MW/1,220MWh third stage of the Western Downs battery in Queensland, and the 164MW/905MWh Muchea battery in Western Australia.
The start of construction of the Goyder battery brings Neoen’s total battery storage capacity in Australia to more than 2.2GW/7.2GWh currently in operation or under construction, consolidating its position as the country’s largest owner and operator of big batteries.
Australia’s Energy Storage Market Experiencing Rapid Growth
David Dixon, senior analyst at independent research firm Rystad Energy, noted that the Goyder project has increased the total capacity of big batteries either commissioning or under construction in Australia’s National Electricity Market (NEM) to 10.6GW. The NEM now has 20GW of utility-scale solar, wind, gas, batteries and pumped hydro either commissioning or under construction, with over half associated with utility battery capacity.
Dixon stated that the majority of this 20GW capacity is expected to be online in the next 24 months. For the first time, over 10GW of capacity has been energized on the NEM in a single year, with batteries and utility and behind-the-meter solar being the two standout technologies with more than 9GW energized in 2025.
Critical Support for South Australia’s Energy Transition
South Australia aims to reach 100% net renewables by 2027. Neoen plays a key role with the 315MW Hornsdale wind farm, the 412.5MW Goyder South wind farm, and the planned 300MW Goyder North wind project, along with the Hornsdale battery and the Blyth battery supporting the state’s energy transformation.
The company’s previously constructed 150MW/193.5MWh Hornsdale Power Reserve was the world’s first large-scale lithium battery energy storage system and the first to deploy grid-forming inverters at scale, setting a benchmark for the global energy storage industry.
